Piling on?

O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help, for my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings! (Psalm 61:1-3)

There will always be times when we feel a little overwhelmed. Following Jesus doesn’t ensure there will not be a deluge of problems on occasion that seem to almost close in on us. It could be argued that God expects us to call out when we begin to feel them closing in, but I’d like to propose that he wants our contact with him to be so deep and intimate that he can ‘hear our heart’ even before he hears our words. The heart can betray what we are feeling or sensing sometimes quicker than our words can express. I have felt overwhelming fear on occasion, unable to utter even one word, but then found God’s peace just settling in over me like a warm blanket on a chilly day. How does that happen? He heard my heart’s cry long before I was even able to acknowledge the need for his intervention. There is just something about dwelling in his presence that allows this to occur. We may not understand it fully, but we can live in it thoroughly.

When overwhelmed by life’s circumstances, we often don’t feel like we have a good vantage point from which to take in what is happening. We can feel like the weight just keeps piling on, the pressures keep escalating, and the attacks keep coming. It is as though we don’t even want to peek our heads out from under the covers because we are afraid we will be a target for some new attack. David said when he felt like that, he asked God to lead him to the towering rock of safety – his presence. We might just need to make that our cry in times of desperate struggle – that God would lead us into his presence, shutting out the noise of this world and let us rely upon him to ‘cover over us’ with his protection. David also told us this place of safety wasn’t just to be a place we frequented on occasion – it was to be our place of dwelling (living there forever).

How do we get to the place of dwelling in his presence so intimately that our heart’s cries are heard, and our protection is understood? It may not come all at once, but the more we take time with him, the more we will find his presence never leaves us nor forsakes us. We just ‘know’ he is here with us – making it all that much easier to express things to him with our heart and not just our head. Just sayin!

More than half-hearted?

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. (Colossians 3:1-4)

Whenever someone asks me if I am serious about a matter, they are really trying to figure out if I am trifling around with them or the matter at hand. When I am serious about a matter, you usually can tell it, though. My focus changes from that of making light about a matter to being quite concentrated on the matter at hand producing whatever outcome is required. It is this change in focus that clues another into the "seriousness" of the matter and the desire to have all actions align with the desired outcome. This is true in our walk with Jesus - we can "trifle" around a little with it, or we can be "serious" about our focus. Either way, our focus will be determined by the way we are treating this pursuit - if seriously, then the outcome will surely differ than if we are only half-hearted!

If we are serious about living as though we have been resurrected into new life with Christ, our actions will reveal it in the way we "pursue" things over which Christ presides. In our lives, Christ is invited to preside over our minds, hearts, and will. In turn, we are called to pursue the things of righteousness which he produces within. We get consumed with the things right in our immediate focus and forget there is a bigger picture we are to behold. Whenever this happens, our perspective becomes pretty limited, and the actions produced by limited focus will always fall short of the actions produced when you can comprehend and apprehend the bigger picture.

Walking with my head down means my focus will be pretty limited because I don't see things around me, just the things at my feet. I might find something good with that view, but not very often. When we think about either living with what others have discarded or discovering something totally afresh and new, it does make a difference! When I look up, around, and down - I have changed my perspective. My "intake" of things around me changes when I change my perspective. In our spiritual walk, when we change our perspective of focus, our intake changes. We can go through life so "inwardly" focused, tightly holding our focus on how things will immediately affect us, or what is right in front of us, that we miss out on the things God has prepared for us just up ahead.

Whenever our focus is too limited, we find ourselves losing momentum. When all we can see is the immediacy of a matter, we don't hold out for the end. We want it to be over as quickly as possible - to see the outcome sometimes long before it was ready to be produced. The things God presides over in our lives are not usually produced with immediacy - they are cultivated. What is taking place on the inside matters. We might think we are ready to move onto the next step in our lives, but if we need more time to have the inside affected as totally as the outside has been, we won't be happy if we just settle on our limited perspective of the outside. God is at work on the inside. He is presiding over our hearts to bring balance to our emotions and commitment to our purpose. He is presiding over our minds to give integrity to our thoughts and see actions produced which are consistent and reliable. He is presiding over our will to reduce the variability of outcomes which are produced through either the stubbornness of our own wants and wishes or the disillusionment of pursuits way ahead of their time.

If we want to live as Christ desires, we need to determine if we are serious about our perspective. Perspective is beyond the immediate - it takes in the whole thing and helps us to form a "life picture" which differs a great deal from what we see when all we are considering is what life has laid at our feet. Just sayin!

Which way?

"Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley." (Theodore Roethke) I had the chance to head to a lovely area of the Northern Arizona rim country this past week, enjoying a little R&R with my BFF and some quality time in nature. It always manages to recenter my focus and calm my weary body, despite the strenuous climbs down paths unknown, or long days awaiting those telltale nibbles that let me know there is a fish on the hook! One of my favorite things to do is to just look out over high places on the mountain's edge and see the vastness of the valleys below. While I appreciate the many things seen deeper down into those valleys, such as the lush meadows, abundant wildlife, and tall pines, I always appreciate the perspective one can obtain when one climbs to the top of the mountain for just a little bit of a different vantage point. As Roethke said, the path is there, but sometimes we just need to change our vantage point to see it a little because there are things that obstruct our view at times.

God is the one who gives me strength. He clears the path I need to take. (Psalm 18:32 ERV)

There are times when friends will ask my advice on which path to take in life. While I appreciate being asked, it sure can put me in a little bit of a predicament when I may not have the same vantage point on that path as the other individual has been given. I am not walking in that other person's shoes, although I may have taken similar paths. The best I can do is offer some advice on how I chose the path I did and what I looked for in confirmation that it was the right one to choose. If you are considering a particular path today, here are some tips:

- We don't want others to choose it for us. It is rarely the right path for us when another chooses it on our behalf, insisting we take one over another. About the only exception to this one is when we are clearly headed down a very wrong path and the other person is pulling us back from that direction. If we are headed in a direction in which we will experience harm or loss, we might just do well to heed their advice to consider the direction we are headed. When choosing our path, we should consider what God has to say about it (in his Word), and perhaps even listen to the advice of those who might have already explored similar paths (remembering that no two paths are equally the same).

- We may want to take the one that is "marked" the clearest, but it may be the one with the absence of those "markings" that brings us to the place we will find the greatest blessings in life. We want the path easiest to travel, well-marked, and often well-traveled. As much as this is a good thing, a well-traveled path could just be a rut dug by frequent passage! Sometimes we need to forge new paths, which may be a little scary at first, but in so doing, we come into new explorations others haven't experienced. In these times, we become the leaders and not the followers. We help others to see new vantage points that were previously undiscovered by them. 

No two paths are the same. No two vantage points will take in the same view. In each person's exploration of similar paths, the lessons may be similar, but they remain absolutely unique to the individual exploring those paths. Choosing one over another is often a matter of conscience, allowing the Spirit's presence within us to confirm the right one for us to travel. Remember, it may not be evident because the mountain looms ahead of us, but it is there! Just sayin!

Not just another mountain

I look up at the vast size of the mountains—from where will my help come in times of trouble? The Eternal Creator of heaven and earth and these mountains will send the help I need. He holds you firmly in place; He will not let you fall.  He who keeps you will never take His eyes off you and never drift off to sleep.  (Psalm 121:1-3 VOICE)

There are two ways to look at mountains in our midst - either as that which is never going to let us past, or as that which can bring our deliverance.  So many times we view the mountains as that which stops us in our tracks - formidable obstacles, unable to be moved, and hard to cross over.  We cannot go through them because they are immovable, would crash down on top of us, and would take lots of resources we don't have at our disposal.  We cannot go under them because mountains don't come equipped with underground passageways!  We could walk all the way around them, but that would be lots and lots of extra work, time, energy, and challenges that would tax our resources.  The quickest way to deal with the mountain is not to go around it, but to get over it!  As good as my climbing skills might be in some situations where I can easily get my footing, the sheer climb upward is sometimes the most challenging, making me want to give up on the climb!  Yet, there is no way over until we make progress upward.

Too many of us look at the size of the mountain in front of us and make the determination there is no way to ever get beyond it.  We "settle" for life at the foot of the obstacle in front of us - thinking we have to just deal with it obstructing what lies just on the other side of it - making all that lies beyond out of our reach.  Our psalmist reminds us God doesn't make mountains as obstacles, but as sanctuaries and as vantage points!  They can become the very thing we need to get clearer perspective.  As I traveled a few weeks ago high up into the mountains of Arizona, one of the places we stopped to explore was a mountain rim upon which you could look out over one valley after another, one mountain after another, until they faded into the distance.  From that vantage point, I was higher than all those mountains, but I also saw the passage that clearly ran through those mountains to the other side of all of them.  It made me know that despite the innumerable obstacles, the way was clearly laid out and adequately prepared for our journey to the other side!

Those same mountains that seemed to be obstacles are sanctuaries for many a wild creature, lots of beautiful tall growth, and even the occasional thorny cacti.  Yet, these are all pretty much hidden from our view because we cannot see the forest for the trees  - we have no idea about the passage through, or the resources at our disposal along the way.  Our psalmist reminds us that God made that mountain - it isn't there by accident.  He also made a way over it which we may not fully see until we change where it is we are viewing that mountain from!  Just sayin!

Considering a change?

Have you met anyone who is so bent on doing things their own way that no matter how much you attempt to advise them differently, they simply argue their point harder and harder, trying to convince you their way is right?  It usually doesn't go well for them because their "myopic" view of life is so limited they cannot see the collision course with disaster they are on.  The scripture is plain - fools don't want to learn from others.  I think one of the hardest things you can do is try to argue with someone "bent" toward foolish decisions.  They just don't want to consider other options - as though admitting their may be more sensible things to do or choices to make, they are admitting they don't know everything!  Shortsighted individuals don't know the big picture and they often refuse to see it.  It isn't that it doesn't exist, they just cannot get it into focus in their lives.  I am near-sighted.  I have the ability to see things near me pretty clearly, but the farther away they get, the blurrier they become.  I need my glasses on to help me "clarify" the picture.  I would be foolish to drive without my glasses.  I wouldn't even consider it.  The fool will deny the need for glasses, and may in fact believe the world is usually "blurry"!

Some people like to do things their own way, and they get upset when people give them advice. Fools don’t want to learn from others. They only want to tell their own ideas. Wise people want to learn more, so they listen closely to gain knowledge. (Proverbs 18:1-2, 15 ERV)

There is probably another reason people like to do things on their own - they don't want to deal with the time it takes to consider another person's viewpoint or way of doing things.  To the fool, the time it takes to actually step into another person's shoes is kind of wasteful.  They just don't see it as valuable. They might expect everyone else to see things their way, but the idea they could actually benefit from seeing things the way another does just doesn't seem worth the effort.  Fools avoid the "gaining knowledge" phase of life because it requires so much work!  Foolish people don't like to "work" at life. Their viewpoint is easiest for them.  Consider this - to "see from a different viewpoint" one must actually get up from where they are at and then change their position.  The fool has a hard time with giving up their position.  They are kind of "fixed" in place when it comes to their opinion and it is hard to get them to move.

Wise people remain open to the ideas of another because they know their is an advantage to seeing things from another's vantage point.  I am only 5 foot 4 inches tall.  My son is 6 foot 4 inches tall.  His additional 12 inches in height gives him a vantage point I don't have - unless I use a step ladder!  He can reach things on the top shelf of the cabinets, hang things from the hook on the patio without standing on his tiptoes and can see over the fence without having to stand on a crate.  He also has a harder time fitting in a car, getting into small spaces, and not being obtrusive in the movie theater!  It is all in perspective! He may have a different vantage point which works to his benefit some of the time, but at others, that same vantage point makes it harder for him in life.  The same is true when we dig our heels in and refuse to consider the vantage point of another's experiences, learning, and advice!

It isn't that a fool absently believes there is not other way outside of his own, he just has grown quite comfortable with his own way of doing things.  I daresay we can all fall into that category at times.  We get into the "rut" of going about things the same way over and over again.  Then we wonder why we achieve the same results (good or bad) when we do!  I once had a friend who said, "If you always do what you always do, you will always get what you have always gotten."  It may not be grammatically correct, but you get the idea, don't you? Doing things the same way time and time again and refusing to consider any other possibility of doing things - this is the definition of futility and stubbornness.  A recipe for disaster with those two ingredients!

We cannot argue with a fool.  We cannot often advise them, but this doesn't mean we stand absently by and never say a thing.  We can "put it out there", but if they choose not to listen to our advice, we shouldn't be surprised.  Their folly keeps them bound to their way - even when our vantage point might just seem a little appealing to them.  It requires change and fools rarely like change! Just sayin!

Got any chronic complainers in your circle?

Do you know any chronic complainers?  You know the type - there is nothing right with the world, the soup is too runny, the room too hot, the driver in front doesn't know how to drive.  You could say the glass is half full - they'd see it as half empty and with no hope of ever being filled again!  Complainers live in a world all their own and feed off the misery of others to keep their complaints alive and thriving.  I kind of think Moses may have encountered just a few of these chronic complainers as Israel was wandering around the desert for 40 years.  There were those who wanted meat, not manna.  Others wanted fresh water without having to exert much effort, while others had no idea what they wanted!  Some could not be content no matter what you did for them.  Notice I said "could not be content", not "would not be content". For the chronic complainer, it is a matter of will, not of provision!  

Remember our history, friends, and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea... They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God... But just experiencing God’s wonder and grace didn’t seem to mean much—most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased.  The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did.... We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him; they tried it, and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes. We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them.  (Excerpts from I Corinthians 10:1-10 MSG)

One thing is for certain in this life - you cannot see things from a negative viewpoint forever and expect to ever achieve positive results.  It isn't like it was in algebra class - two negatives do not achieve a positive result in real life!  How we view life often determines if we can ever get a "positive" out of a "negative" circumstance.  The chronic complainers may be good at pointing out the problems, but they are terrible at ever coming up with the solutions. Their vantage point just doesn't afford them the opportunity to think outside of the "negative" box.  

Did you ever stop to consider those around you in the "problem-solving" you have to engage in today?  The ones you surround yourself with may make all the difference in whether you find greater problems or actually begin to chip away at the solution.  God gives us problems, not to defeat us, but so we can engage with each other on the solutions.  It is this "engagement" process which actually helps us to grow - for we learn to see life from different perspectives and not just through our own viewpoint.  The disciples didn't go out one by one - they went out in "teams" because there was something powerful in being "partnered" with someone to assist in getting the work done.

Chronic complainers have one thing in common - they are "impossibility" thinkers.  Problem-solvers have just the opposite in common - they are "possibility" thinkers.  If you didn't realize this yet, we all work off of each other's reactions, perceptions, and thought processes.  Your reactions to the problem can affect my reactions to it.  Your perception of the root causes can influence where I go to look for the root causes.  Your thought processes, when shared with me, become influential in either confirming or challenging my own thought processes.  

Here is something I have come to realize - chronic complainers are often trying to get others to engage in some form of conflict.  They aren't happy until others are affected by the conflict.  If we recognize this up front, we might just be a little less likely to engage in their totally warped way of thinking!  It is easy to get "sucked into" the conflict of the chronic complainer. Truth be told, we have all done it a time or two.  The challenge comes in avoiding their conflict without totally alienating them in the process.  I have tried a time or two to just say to the chronic complainer, "Hey, I am not interested" and then walk away.  Didn't go well for me, how about you?  They kind of interpret my "disinterest" in their conflict as another thing they can actually complain about!

One thing is for sure - chronic complainers need the "balance" of someone who can get perspective on a situation.  They may not realize they need us, but they do!  Discontent destroys - chronic complainers operate in this realm of discontent.  Not because they have to, but because they know no other way! In dealing with the chronic complainer it is essential for us to keep our focus directed toward the solution - not the problem.  The chronic complainer will do their best to focus on the problem - so they need someone to point them toward the solution.  Just sayin!

Vantage point determines outcome

 There's nothing better than being wise, knowing how to interpret the meaning of life. Wisdom puts light in the eyes, and gives gentleness to words and manners.

(Ecclesiastes 8:1)

Solomon is near the end of his life when he is writing these words.  His years of service as King of Israel have been both rewarding and somewhat taxing.  His summation of life's pursuits, challenges rewards, and the futility of following after things not really all that important have been the theme of his writing.  He was known for his wisdom - a gift from God that helped him rule well.  He boldly proclaims that there is "nothing better than being wise".  He qualifies what he means as "being wise" as "knowing how to interpret the meaning of life".  

There are books upon books written about finding "meaning in life".  Some might have a tidbit of truth to them that we can glean from our consideration of the words penned by their authors.  Others are clearly just reporting ways we might improve our "self-image" or engage in positive "self-talk" that will bring some type of "meaning" into our life.  The opportunities to consider what brings "meaning" into one's life varies as much as the quantity of books on the bookshelves of our "self help" sections of the local bookstore or library.  There are lots of opportunities - but Solomon advises that wisdom is the best.

Wisdom gives us perspective - it gives us a vantage point from which to view life in such a way that we make our choices for action based on the "view" we have attained.  Let me break that down.  If we view a troubling circumstance like an unexpected debt from the vantage point of fear, we will panic at the possibility of damaging our credit or not being able to pay it off.  If we view that same unexpected debt from the vantage point of faith, we might ask for help from the one we owe the debt to structure manageable payments over a longer period of time in order that we might pay the debt without fear of losing our good credit standing.

A "vantage" point is simply that which gives us a view that we might call "the 5,000 foot view".  In other words, we see things from a bigger perspective than just the thing immediately in front of us.  We often hear this referred to as the "big picture" view of a situation.  Solomon reminds us that our vantage point determines our perspective.  If we allow wisdom to become the basis by which we make choices in life, we will have a better vantage point than if we live by impulse or "whatever feels good" mentality.

Solomon gives us three examples of how wisdom affects a life - affects perspective and determines the vantage point from which we interpret or handle life situations. 

• Wisdom puts light in the eyes.  Wherever we have our focus is reflected in our eyes.  That is why the Word reminds us that the eyes are windows to our soul.  If our focus is on Jesus, the eyes will reflect the possibilities of faith.  If our focus is on self, the eyes often reflect the hopelessness of self-effort.   Perspective is determined by our vantage point - at best, self will struggle to accomplish the same thing that faith can accomplish by simply trusting.  
• Wisdom gives gentleness to words.  Words are often a solid indicator of our focus or perspective at the moment.  Solomon reminds us that having gentleness to our words is an outcome of having a right perspective in life.  Harsh words, or words that focus on the problem instead of the possibilities, are often based on being "internally focused" in life.  We only see things from our vantage point, not the vantage point of another - and certainly not the vantage point of Christ.  Therefore, words are reflective of what is best for us, what elevates us, what makes us look or fell good.  They are often far from gentle (kind and loving).  
• Wisdom gives us gentle manners.  Manners is just another way of referring to behavior.  Wisdom affects our behavior.  Our vantage point determines our choices - if we have a "big picture view", we often make different choices in life.  

Wisdom is really all about perspective - where we place our hope, what it is that we trust in, and how we either embrace or reject input into our lives.  If our perspective is in Christ, our vantage point will always give us the best insight that will ultimately produce/result in the best for our lives.  If we think we have a "good" vantage point and then end up being overtaken by our enemy, we really did not have much of a "vantage" point in the first place!  We need the benefit of a "solid vantage point" in life.  There is no other vantage point better than we will find than when our focus is solidly on Christ.